Whilst their protest at Roland Garros did relatively little to move the needle, the world’s top players are not giving up on their fight for their rights.
In fact, what they saw as a lack of respect from the Grand Slam organisers has arguably only fuelled them further, even if their threats of boycotting the actual events never actually came to fruition.
Instead, the extent of their protest came in the form of a 15-minute walk-out from press conferences on media day.
Unsurprisingly, other than getting the conversation going, this did little.
However, what they plan to do at the US Open could arguably be even more pointless.
What protest are the top players planning at the US Open?
As reported by The Times, the top players might already have their strategy for this major planned out.
After all, following Wimbledon announcing their prize money for this year’s event, and likely doing enough to avoid huge backlash, it’s expected that the last Grand Slam of the season might not be so generous.
Therefore, in an effort to further emphasise their discontent with the prize money situation, Jannik Sinner is among a growing group of top players who are reportedly considering boycotting the US Open’s revamped mixed doubles event.
Last year, this shortened format, which ran in the lead-up to the singles draws, drew great praise from spectators, who got to see some of their favourite singles players team up in the most unlikely of partnerships.
However, given Aryna Sabalenka was threatening to boycott the actual singles French Open event at one point, this feels like a very minimal threat that, in the end, doesn’t really impact the players at all.
Why boycotting the US Open mixed doubles will have no impact
If anything, the players who decide to skip this mixed doubles event will arguably benefit from the decision. That’s not really the point of a boycott during a protest, as it doesn’t really showcase how passionate the players are about said topic.
Thus far, all we have seen is huge threats and little action, with the 15-minute media walk-out in Paris wholly inconsequential.
Will players regret their decision to walk out of press conferences at Roland Garros?
Tensions are high in Paris!
And whilst this would be a slight step up, it still does little to move the needle.
The US Open organisers can revert to the old format with minimal fuss, and the players will continue as if this never happened. Both the players and the tournament can live without this event.
It will be interesting to see whether their stance increases in aggression when they actually announce their prize money, as it could provoke some genuinely volatile reactions from the players rather than this limp current plan they are conjuring.
